The Silver Propeller Challenge is an initiative from the Inland Waterways Association to encourage boats to travel all our canals and rivers, not just the most popular ones. There are plenty of places on the canals that will see thousands of visitors each year, however, there are also some locations where you'd be lucky to see a boat on the move if you were to visit.
Some of the locations on the Silver Propeller Challenge will require you to have your own boat be that a canoe, narrowboat, paddleboard or any other kind of boat as they are not easily accessible with a hire boat. There are equally however multiple locations that you can easily access on a canal boat holiday from one of our bases.
Our top 10 route options for finidng a silver propeller location on your canal boat hire
1. Head of Navigation - Mon & Brec Canal
Photo by Nigel Jones, from the Bridge 46 to Five Locks Canal Group
A relaxed lock-free cruise from Gilwern to Five Locks Basin could be done on a short-break hire or over the course of a week in combination with a route north of Gilwern.
** Sally at Road House Narrowboats informs me there is a boater’s book at the Open Hearth pub and any boater who passes is encouraged to go in and sign it and there is a dedicated group working to promote this section of the canal.
2. Runcorn - Bridgewater Canal
Photo by Chas Hardern, of Chas Hardern Narrowboats
Every year 100’s of holiday makers will make their way around The Cheshire Ring. The Cheshire Ring is 97 miles long with 92 locks, but for a small diversion of 8 miles (4 each way) and 0 locks you could visit Runcorn and the terminus of the Bridgewater canal where it used to have lock flights down the Manchester Ship Canal and River Weaver. As just 4 miles each way with 0 locks, this must be a contender for the easiest silver propeller location, especially if you are already doing the Cheshire Ring.
3. Winsford Bridge - River Weaver
Each year many boats will descend the impressive Anderton Boat Lift only to go straight back up again, if you are going down to the River Weaver why not do a bit of exploring, being a river it does feel very different to the canals. If you don’t have time to make it all the way to Winsford Bridge a short trip to Northwhich and back is in my opinion a must do if time allows.
4. West Summit Lock - Rochdale Canal
This section of canal is one of my favourites and one I can't wait to get back to. The scenery is some of the most impressive we’ve seen on any canal in the UK with lots of options for taking a walk up into the hills. From the base in Leeds you could take a 2 week hire to the summit of the Rochdale canal. It can be a challenging canal at times, but in my opinion totally worth it and a good option if you have more than a couple of crew members.
If time, water and stoppages allow you could also turn this into a ring route and come back along the Huddersfield narrow canal and its silver propeller location at Standedge Tunnel.
5. Wendover Arm - Grand Union Canal
Sadly the Wendover Arm is currently closed to navigation, but i’ve included it here regardless. When it is open it can be reached on a short-break hire from Leighton Buzzard. It’s currently a just 1 ½ mile long arm so if you are passing and the stoppages have been removed take a short-trip up and support the restoration.
6. Coventry Basin - Coventry Canal
Another option that could easily be added to a popular ring route - the warwickshire ring. It’s just 6 miles and 0 locks to reach Coventry Basin which is not much if you are already doing the 104 miles and 120 locks on the Warwickshire Ring.
7. Crickheath - Montgomery Canal
The montgomery canal is one again that can easily be missed on the rush to Llangollen and Poncysyllte Aqueduct if you have the time it’s an incredibly peaceful place, and a canal that could be the perfect antidote to the busyness of the Llangollen Canal.
The passage down Frankton locks must be pre-booked and access is limited to 12 boats per day, with a minimum of a one-night stay and a maximum of 14 nights, making it a less busy and quite relaxing canal.
8. Standedge Tunnel - Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Photo by Chris Wood, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The only wonder of the waterways that is a silver propeller location, like the Rochdale it can be hard work at times
9. Caldon Canal
Photo from Canal Cruising Co, a hire base in Staffordshire perfectly location for a trip on the Caldon Canal
A trip up the Caldon Canal offers up to 2 silver propeller locations, depending on how active you’d like your cruise to be. You can visit Uttoxeter Basin, Froghall, the Leek Branch or both. Although it contains 2 silver propeller locations, the Canal itself is quite a popular canal holiday route. If you would like to make it to the terminus at each Silver Propeller location, do let your hire base or agent know and they can advise on the best boat. IWA Member The Canal Cruising Co in Stone, Staffordshire would be a good starting point for this varied route, combining gorgeous scenery with the industrial heritage of the potteries.
10. Take your pick - Birmingham Navigations
There are multiple options to choose from on the Birmingham Navigations and you could get ¼ of the way to your silver propeller badges in this area of canals alone. I won’t pick any out in particular but if you are heading to Birmingham perhaps on the Black Country Ring why not consult the map and see if there are any options near your planned route where you could take a short detour.
So there you have 10 great options for visiting Silver Propeller locations on a canal boat holiday. These are just some of the options are there are more to choose from, especially if you have your own boat. You can browse all the silver propeller locations here.